The Last Post - 1999 single
Logan Betz is done being a basement musician. Gone are the days of privately stowing away songs for some kind of epiphanic rainy day when he would realize his worth as a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. The Central Pennsylvania-based artist is now releasing the debut EP, Wayfinder (Rock Paper Records), from his solo project, The Last Post. The googly-eyed pop-punk tune 1999 will be the EP’s first single.
“I feel like I finally found my way,” Betz says. “This record is both the culmination of my journey in music, and the start of my journey. My little teenage heart is super happy I did this—I made up for lost time.”
The 7-song collection conjures the sweet and sentimental sounds of late-1990s/early-2000s emo and pop-punk, but mixes in inspiration from modern pop, pop-punk, and alt-rock. Fans of The Get Up Kids, Saves the Day, Dashboard Confessional, Microwave, Paramore, The Menzingers, and, even, Taylor Swift take note. Something nostalgic and new is coming your way.
Betz came of age at the sugar rush zenith of emo and pop-punk. The music’s earnestly emotive songwriting made an indelible impact on him. He writes open-heartedly about his own mental health struggles, love, relationships, and nostalgia. “I’m a sensitive person, and I’m not afraid to be a little sappy,” he says.
The Last Post is named after a beloved family cabin that shaped Betz’s formative years. It was initially conceived as an intimate acoustic project which is evident on the previously-released single, "Highs & Lows.”
However, Betz envisioned a full-band sound for Wayfinder, and he played the majority of the instruments on the recordings, including drums, guitars, bass, keys, and vocals. Betz co-produced the EP with Logan Summey at Mechanicsburg, PA-based Rock Mill Studio.
The single, 1999, is prime pop-punk, bursting with syrupy harmonies, tenderly plaintive vocals, thick rubbery bass, chiming melodies, propulsive drums, and quickly-strummed acoustic guitars. It adorably chronicles the madness of teenage love, including the mix tapes that soundtrack it. You can feel the yearning of teenage romance with lyrics such as: It was 1999 and for the first time in my life/Things were feeling/Driving way too fast on the way to your house/Falling hard and staying up all night/Things were feeling right.
“1999 is about the year I met my first love who would go on to become my wife. Twenty five years later, we’re still together and we have two kids,” Betz says. “It is filled with nostalgia, both in its personal lyrical content, but also in its sound. It is definitely influenced by the bands and type of music we grew up on, and fell in love listening to.”
Outside of The Last Post, Betz is active in the Central PA punk and indie scene playing drums in The Super High-Tech Jet Fighters and in Edgewood. The Super High-Tech Jet Fighters have toured regionally, been featured on Apple Music’s “Breaking Rock” playlist, and the band has most recently performed at The Fest in Gainesville, FL., along with Matt and Kim, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, and Big D And the Kids Table. Betz is also the co-founder of Rock Paper Records which has been active since 2011.
